Balto:Tight Friends Make Tighter Enemies
by Whiskey-Foxtrot 929
Summary: The bonds of friends become stronger as our main characters become tighter than family. Everyone will cooperate, and trust will become key, as we run across some new faces.
1. Chapter 1

**Balto: The Final Quest-Part 2(Tight Friends Make Tighter Enemies)**

** Author's Note: Alright, this was up way faster than I expected but some ideas came to me. In this part, everyone's bonds become tighter and they cooperate well. There will be many explanations in this part so be prepared. Conflict will arise when our main characters run into some friendly faces with a problem. I hope you enjoy part two of: Balto: The Final Quest-Tight Friends Make Tighter Enemies. **

Steele finished eating and looked to Kodi. "So kid, what are you guys doin' out here?" Kodi just stared at him for a second and said, "We're just looking for something." Steele shook his head and laughed, "Kodiak, if we're gonna be traveling together we gotta build trust. Come on man, you can tell me." Kodi stared again, then sighed and hesitantly spoke. "Alright…we're out here…because...I wanna look for…something more exciting than Nome and my job. Believe me, I love pulling the line, but I wanna do more, you know."  
Steele looked at him and replied, "I understand kid. It's kinda hard to believe, but I used to be pretty popular myself. But that's another story." Kodi was kind of surprised. "You used to be popular? Were you the leader of the sled team?" Steele nodded. "Yep, we were the most successful team in Nome. Everyone loved us, but more importantly, they loved me." Kodi replied, "Well how come my dad never told me anything about you?" Steele frowned a bit and said, "We were never friends, and to be honest, I was pretty rude and arrogant back then. Also, not to shock you or anything but, your dad used to be the outcast and everyone hated him. It was all because of me. I still feel bad about it, to this very day. No matter, what happened in the past we can't change. Oh how I wish I could now. Sorry for talkin' so much, just I ain't talked to nobody in a while." All Kodi could was say, "Wow." Steele just simply replied, "Yeah, wow."

The two sat in silence for a few moments until Rhondunhadaegun said, "Hey you two, you should both rest. We have much traveling to do tomorrow, and you will need energy." Both of them nodded and entered the cave. They both lied down on opposite sides of the cave and looked at eachother one last time before closing their eyes and going to sleep.

It was around 11:30 now, and Johnathan had awoken from his short sleep. "So much for a full night's sleep," he said slowly getting up. Auermoctoc looked back at him from outside the cave, then, focused his attention back to the surrounding brush. John got up and went next to him and said, "Hey kid, you'll need rest for tomorrow. Go inside and get some sleep, I'll keep watch." He smiled slightly and said, "Thanks, good luck." John nodded and looked over to Rhondunhadaegun, who was lying down by the fire with droopy eyes. John chuckled and said, "Hey man, get up and come inside to rest. Ain't no point in you stayin' out here." Rhondunhadaegun looked back for a second then got up. He walked by John and nodded before lying down a few feet away from Auermoctoc.  
Johnathan then shifted his gaze to the steadily crackling fire. He stared at it for a moment while thoughts crossed his mind. He started to remember when he was in World War I, and was sitting with his men around a campfire in a trench.

_Flashback: World War I, Western Europe, Frontline, 1916: 11:47 P.M._

Johnathan was sitting on a tree stump by a campfire with his squad. It was mostly quiet, other than a few crickets. His staff sergeant was talkin about how they were gonna be going home soon. "Yep, this stalemate ought to be over soon. We should be home by Christmas once we crush through the German line." The lieutenant said, "Ah can it sergeant, we all know this war ain't gonna end no time soon. Didn't you here? Jerry got some more reinforcements from Berlin. About 3,000 soldiers are gonna be at the line tomorrow." A private said, "How do you know for sure sir? We're supposed to be getting some new boys up here tonight. We might have a chance." The lieutenant laughed and said, "Kid, I don't know where you heard that from. If we are, command ain't say shit about it."

Just then a Lieutenant Colonel came running up and said, "Alright men shut it. One of the spotters said he saw the Germans gettin' ready to load some artillery. I want everyone sharp, and ready to fight." Johnathan said, "Sir, we were born ready. To be honest, I just want to get this done and do the good lord's deed and get home. I'll do whatever it takes to get that done." The Lieutenant Colonel chuckled and said, "Amen. Now come on, get up. We gotta be ready for anythi-…"  
He was cut off by the sound of an explosion and a flash of light about a ¼ mile to the east. Then, shouting could be heard and gunshots were being fired. Tracers could be seen coming from both sides. The quiet night had turned noisy, and everything was being illuminated by the lights from blazing guns, and exploding shells. The men got up and a Colonel came and yelled, "Alright men, load your weapons and prepare to fire!"

_Present: 12:09 A.M._

John snapped out of his daze and stood up to get some more material for the now weakening fire. He picked up some more grass and a few more twigs. He threw in another match as well and blew on the fire. It was back to full strength.  
He went to sit back at the cave entrance for a few more moments. He stayed there, gazing at the moon and surrounding forest for the next several minutes, before heading inside, and lying down on his sheet. Within 5 minutes, he had closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two (2)**

** 8:07 A.M.**

Balto had awoken to the sound of chirping birds outside the cave. He stood up and yawned while stretching his muscles. He had also awoken to the smell of cooking meat. He was curious and stepped out of the cave to see Johnathan sitting by the campfire with his hunting rifle and a stick with 6 pieces of meat on it. He recognized the meat as chopped hare. He chuckled and walked over to the fire. Before he got to say anything, John said, "Morning Balto." Balto smiled and replied, "Morning John. You went hunting I see." He simply laughed and said, "Yeah, I figured that we should have a light breakfast before we head out. The food will be done in about, 3 to 4 minutes."

Balto looked around and took in the smell of the forest. He picked up: water, caribou, hare, and pine. He then looked at John and said, "Well the food smells good. I can tell that the forest is alive this morning." John simply looked up at the sky and said, "Yep."

They both turned toward the cave as they heard a groan from Steele. He stretched and exited the cave. He looked at both of them and said, "Good morning you two." Balto was the first to speak. "Good morning Steele. Good to see you're in good spirits." Even though Balto had forgiven him, it still felt weird to have him around. John then spoke, "Good morning to you as well. If you could be so kind as to wake everyone else, breakfast is almost ready." Steele nodded and said, "Certainly."

He went back in the cave and awoke the other three canines. A moment later they all came walking out of the cave. Auermoctoc looked at John and said, "You can't stay asleep long, can you?" John laughed and said, "Guess not." The hare had finished cooking and they were all done around different qualities. Rhondunhadaegun's and Auermoctoc's were rare, Steele's was medium-well, Kodi's was well-done, and Balto's was medium-rare.

They were all surprised at Johnathan's cooking, and how it was done exactly as they would have preferred. The canines dug in on their "light breakfast," as Johnathan called it. John was the last to begin eating. He had finished second, after Rhondunhadaegun. John asked, "Is anyone thirsty?" They all contemplated the question, and decided, without further hesitation, yes. He said, "Alright, I'll be back in a bit. I'll gather some water from that stream about a ½ mile away from here. I shouldn't be gone for more than 15, 20 minutes tops." Balto finished his hare and said, "Alright, I'll come with you. The rest of you guys wait here." They all nodded and continued to finish their meal.

Balto and Johnathan set off for the water with two small buckets John had in his backpack. Once the other canines had finished, Kodi lied down by the fire, while Rhondunhadaegun went to attend to some "business" in the bushes. Auermoctoc and Steele were left alone, as Kodi drifted off to sleep.

Steele was the first to speak. "So, how's life been to you?" Auermoctoc turned to him and said, "Not bad. Rather fortunate if you will." Steele looked over and said, "Well that's good. By the way, I never caught your name." Auermoctoc smiled a bit and said, "My name's Auermoctoc. Based on the occurrences of last night, I take it your name is Steele." Steele returned the smile and said, "Yep, nice to meet you." The two canines remained in silence for a moment, until Auermoctoc broke the silence and said, "Well, my life's been mostly fortunate." Steele looked over in surprise, "Mostly?" Auermoctoc nodded. "Yeah, I've had my fair share of problems in life, believe me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three(3)-Madness Devours **

_Flashback: 23 ¼ Miles Southwest of Arctic Circle-4 Years Earlier 3:29 P.M._

**Auermoctoc PoV:**

I had awoken from my nap next to my mother and father. The air around us was cool, yet still. I was a little over a year old now. My pack was moving south by about 17 miles. We were relocating due to the scarcity of food. We had decent numbers. My father looked down at me and said, "Good afternoon my son. Did you enjoy your nap? We're moving out again soon." I simply yawned and nodded my head.

I had to admit, I did feel refreshed compared to when I initially awoke earlier. My mother awoke a few minutes later and nuzzled my father and I. Even though she was wise, she rarely spoke unless she needed to, but when she did her voice was so soft. It made me feel calm and safe, no matter the situation.

Not long after she had awoken, I began to feel somewhat hungry. My mother and father had managed to save a small share of last night's meal. I looked up at my parents, and they got the message. They both nodded affirmatively and nudged me in the direction of the meat. I smiled and walked over to the caribou meat. While I ate, I thought about our journey, and how much longer we had to go. I knew we had traveled a small distance, of only 6 miles from our starting location the previous day.

After I finally snapped back to reality, I realized that I had already hit bone in my meal. I stopped gnawing immediately, and turned my attention to the two wolves that were approaching us. I recognized one of them as the pack alpha. He stood over me, and looked down with a smile.

He said, "Good afternoon, young one. I hope you and your parents are well rested. We must continue our journey if we wish to reach our destination by noon tomorrow." My father got up and walked over to us. He had a slight grin on his muzzle. As soon as he reached us he said, "Good afternoon to you, Rustodrumautec. When do we depart?" The alpha looked at him and said, "In ten minutes we will start the final half of our journey." My father looked at him and nodded. With that, the alpha departed to round up everyone else in the pack, and prepare them for the walk.

Several moments later, we had begun our walk. My mother and father were near me most of the time. Our entire group totaled 11 members, including myself. After about 20 minutes of mostly silence, we all froze as we picked up an ever-approaching scent. It was the scent of humans.

The alpha turned to order us into cover. "Everyone, progress no further, wait for the hunters to p-" He was cut off mid-sentence, when a bang was heard, along with a crack. We all stared at him as he remained still for a moment, then fell dead. We all had a look of shock on our faces. Another bang was heard and fear kicked in. We all instinctively split up. In the process, I turned my head back and did not notice the branch in front of me. I collided with it, and was sent to the ground.

When I heard a click and looked up, I found myself staring down the barrel of one of those exploding sticks. I knew what happened whenever a trigger was pulled, and feared for my life. When I thought for sure I was dead, my father charged at the human and sent him towards the ground. He looked over at me for a brief moment and smiled faintly.

As he turned around, my mother was on the ground, at the end of an exploding stick. My dad froze and looked on in a daze. My mother looked over to me with tears in her eyes as she mouthed, "I love you." I softly said, "I love you too." My father charged at the hunter, but it was too late. A loud bang was heard and my mother lied on the ground motionless. A final whimper escaped her muzzle as she faded from this world. My father had pinned the hunter down, and was at his throat. He closed down hard and broke the human's neck.

He turned to face me, but was met with the muzzle of an exploding stick. He stood there, and said one word, "RUN!" I followed my father's command and I heard an explosion as I disappeared into the thick brush. After 30 minutes of running, I came to a cave, and entered. Once inside, I collapsed on my stomach and began sobbing, weeping tears of pure sadness.

After I finally finished crying, I picked up the scent of more wolves. Curious, I followed the scent, only to find that it led deeper into the cave. After a few minutes of traveling, ran into, what I thought to be, a furry patch of moss. But as I looked up, I realized that it was an adult male wolf with a dark gray coat. He looked down and smiled warmly. "Well who are you little one?" I shrunk back a bit, still scared. He then motioned for me to follow him, so I did. When we entered a larger section of the cave, I was greeted by more wolves. The wolf who had found me spoke out, "Everyone, be hospitable, we have a new arrival."


	4. Chapter 4:Revealed Secrets

**Chapter Four(4)-Revealed Secrets**

**Author's Note****: In this chapter, many secrets will be revealed. Steele, Balto, and Auermoctoc's friendships develop further. I will not keep you waiting any further. Onward to chapter four. Enjoy!**

_Flashback End-Present Day, 8:23 A.M._

All Steele could do was stare at Auermoctoc in complete surprise. He would have never thought that he had such a rough life. Auermoctoc started to tear up, and his voice was quivering now. "It was difficult and I don't know how I didn't cry all the time. Haha, you know, it's kinda funny. Sometimes, the most tragic events, we can get over so easily." Steele put his paw on his back and said, "Eh kid, don't feel so bad. I know that life can be difficult. I never would have known were it not for me realizing how much pain I caused Balto." Auermoctoc looked up at Steele with a smile on his face. "Thanks man, you're the only person I've ever told that to. You seem like you could be a good friend." Steele returned the smile and said, "No problem man."

4 minutes later, Rhondunhadaegun emerged from the bushes with another hare. Auermoctoc looked at him and said, "Dude, do you ever get full? You know if John was here, he'd kill you for eating again now." Rhondunhadaegun laughed and said, "No he wouldn't. He wouldn't lay a finger on me if he knows what's good for him."

Johnathan and Balto returned at that moment. John pulled out his pistol and knelt down beside him with it to his head. "What did you say about me?" Rhondunhadaegun froze in his place. "N…No…Nothing Johnathan." John chuckled a bit and said, "That's what I thought. Haha, I'm just fuckin' with you kiddo. Relax." Rhondunhadaegun let out a sigh of relief. "You had me goin' for a minute there John." Johnathan stopped laughing and stared at him, "No, seriously, you better fuckin' respect me you goddamn maggot, you understand me?" Rhondunhadaegun sat straight up and looked ahead, "You got it sir." John smirked and replied, "Good." Steele cocked his head to the right a bit and asked, "Wait a minute, how did you two get back so quick? Where's the water?" John rubbed his neck and said, "Yeah, about that..."

* * *

_**20 Minutes Earlier:**_

**Balto and Johnathan**

Balto was walking through the forest in the direction of the small river. Johnathan was carrying the two buckets, while following Balto and his powerful nose. At the current pace that they were walking at, they only had about another 5 minutes until they reached their destination. John stopped for a second and took in the surroundings to become familiar with the route. After a moment, they continued on to their destination.

Once they had arrived at the river, John said, "Ah, well, this is as good a spot as any to collect some water. Huh, we should see if we can catch a fish." Balto simply nodded and sat down beside him. He focused on the water and noted how clear it was. John knelt down and stuck a bucket in the steadily flowing stream. After about 10 seconds, the small bucket was full.

He set it down beside him and turned to speak to Balto. To his surprise, Balto was also about to speak. He gestured for Balto to speak first. "Thank you. I was just wondering, are you ever gonna tell us all how you're still doing the things you're doing?" John took a deep sigh and began to explain. "Not everyone, just you. Do you think you can handle it?" Balto nodded and stared attentively at him.

"Alright, it all started way back in 1839. I was trying to look for some cures to common illnesses. I was currently working to see if I could do anything to help anything at that point. I had already improved a bit on working for medicine for the common cold. One day, I thought I had finally figured out somethin' for rabies. But I was wrong. This concoction would bring upon me, what many people would see as a blessing. But to me it's a curse. I took a sip, and didn't feel any different. I thought I had failed and was going to die due to a bite I suffered from my neighbor's dog.

After a few days I wasn't dead or sick so I figured it worked. Oh, it worked alright, but a little too well. After a few months, I noticed that I hadn't aged at all, or even gotten sick. Several years passed with the same results. After my friends had aged and died, I still remained the same. After another decade, the American Civil War began. I was gonna do some work on inventing things but felt that I could contribute most by fighting on the field. I did so by joining the union army.

I had been cycled many times throughout the war due to things like: battalion destructions, redeployments, more reinforcements, etc. I was becoming tired of it all until I realized that there was no ending of my constant survival. I had to accept it.

So, I did things that no one else could survive. I ran right at 20+ enemy soldiers and killed all of em'. Of course, I suffered my fair share of wounds no doubt. But, I began to feel empowered by my abilities. Eventually my commander noticed my success and nobility, so he started assigning me to 5 or 6 man reconnaissance teams. Our success rate was pretty high. After a few years of scouting and the war was finally over, I decided to stick to the military life but that's a whole other chapter in my life.

Anyway, the main point is that I can't die from anything that a mortal being can cause. No matter how badly wounded or ill I become, I can't die. It's fucking ridiculous. I don't want anyone else to have to deal with this, so I don't give it to anyone else. This is completely crazy, and I know you don't believe me, but it's true kid."

Just like that, he stopped and grabbed the other bucket to fill it with water. Balto just sat there dumbfounded, confused. John finished filling the bucket and turned to stand. Balto snapped out of it and stood up also. The two prepared to head back when they were interrupted by a bear growl.

John said, "Oh shit! Bear!" Balto turned to face him and was surprised. The two stepped back and John laughed a bit and said, "Kid, what the hell is it about you that always attracts bears?" Balto laughed and said, "I don't know. Wait, how do you know about that?" Johnathan looked at him and was about to speak when he remembered the bear was there.

The grizzly swung his large claws at him and John rolled out the way. At that moment, Balto lunged at the bear, but was smacked away. John pulled out his rifle and was about to fire, but the bear knocked it out of his hands and let out a mighty roar. He then grabbed his trusty Colt and fired 4 shots at the bear. The grizzly was stunned, but became even more pissed off. John said, "Fuck!" and helped Balto up. The two ran back towards the cave and left the water behind. John fired one final shot at the bear before following Balto, as they disappeared behind the thick foliage.

**(I know it got a little weird and confusing around the end. I will make the rest of part two easier to understand. The next chapter will be up in a few days.)**


End file.
